PA Child Support Program

Laws & Legislation

Laws and Legislation

The IV-D program is grounded in both federal and state statutes as well as judicial
rules and procedures. The Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) within the
Department of Public Welfare (DPW) is the single state agency charged with
administering the IV- D program in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The
federal statutory basis for the program is U.S. Public Law 93-647, Title IV-D
of the Social Security Act. The state statutory basis is in Title 23 of the
Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Annotated (23 Pa. C.S.A.).

The policies and procedures that govern most aspects of the child support
program in Pennsylvania are the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) in 45 CFR,
Parts 232 and 301 to 308; Chapter 55 of the Pennsylvania Code; and the
Pennsylvania Rules of Court, Actions for Support in the Rules of Civil
Procedure, 42 Pa. C.S.A. Rule 1910 et seq. Additionally, existing policies and
procedures may be affected by case law as well as court and judicial
proceedings.